A rescue operation using mechanical excavators is underway to rescue more than 100 people trapped under the rubble.
Saints Academy in Jos, Plateau State, collapsed shortly after the students, most of whom were 15 or younger, arrived. A total of 154 students were trapped, but 132 were rescued and are now receiving treatment in various hospitals, according to Alfred Alabo, a Plateau State police spokesman.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear, but residents said it occurred after three days of heavy rains. Plateau state authorities attributed the tragedy to the school's "weak structure and proximity to a river."
Building collapses are quite common in Nigeria, due to lax enforcement of building codes, since 2005, at least 152 buildings have collapsed in Lagos.